Change of Command : Capt. Delker Takes the Helm at Hueneme Naval Base

As a new commander took the helm at the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Port Hueneme Friday, naval brass reminded assembled troops that the Seabees will probably suffer little damage from defense cuts.

Although downsizing in the Navy will undoubtedly continue, the men and women who take care of the logistics of mobilizing a military force remain in demand, Rear Adm. Jack E. Buffington, told nearly 1,000 people at the change-of-command ceremony.

“We’re going to lose a few Seabees as we go along,” said Buffington, the Seabees’ top representative in Washington. “But wherever (the United States military) goes, we are going to be the first team.

“And don’t forget it,” he added in a booming voice.

About 200 invited civilian guests, plus about 750 troops in dress whites, attended the hourlong event. It formalized the transfer of power at the sprawling base from Rear Adm. David J. Nash to Capt. James L. Delker. Nash, who has held the position for two years and eight months, has been promoted to commander of the Third Naval Construction Brigade, Pacific Division, in Pearl Harbor.

Delker will assume command of the battalion center and the 31st Naval Construction Regiment based in Port Hueneme, his latest post in a military career that began in July, 1969. As base commander, Delker will have ultimate authority and responsibility for about 9,000 military and civilian employees with an annual payroll of $297 million.

Friday’s ceremonies were filled with pomp and circumstance built up over 400 years of naval tradition, including the playing of patriotic music, rigid salutes by troops and commanders, and bells and whistles announcing the arrival of military dignitaries.

The threat of rain did not stop the precise order of events, including the playing of military music by a naval band from San Diego, short talks by Buffington, Nash and Delker and the formal transfer of command.

That happened when Delker read his orders, faced Nash and said, “I am ready to relieve you, sir.” To which Nash responded: “I stand relieved.”

Both men then faced each other, formally saluted, walked down a red-carpeted walkway and were escorted into separate cars.

As the crowd scattered at ceremony’s end, light rain began to fall across the outdoor parade field. Navy spokeswoman Linda Wadley said organizers had planned to move the ceremony into a nearby theater on the base in case of rain.

“We are so glad we were able to stay out here,” Wadley said, clutching her closed umbrella beneath her arm.

Delker made no reference to any changes or other plans for the base during his brief remarks. But, during Nash’s spirited talk, he alluded to the paring of the Navy nationwide.

“The Navy will be smaller, but the weapons platform will be greater,” he said. “I’m confident that our senior Navy leaders will make the right decisions.”

Port Hueneme’s base escaped almost unscathed when the government disclosed a national base-closure plan last year. The biggest change was the closure of the Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory and the absorption of its operations onto the 1,615-acre Seabee base.

Only 15 military or civilian jobs in Ventura County were lost as a result of last year’s cutbacks. But Ventura County is fortunate because its facilities, including the Point Mugu Naval Air Station, are necessary and unique.

The Port Hueneme Seabee base is one of only two construction battalions in the nation and serves all of the Pacific Fleet. The Point Mugu air station is a key base in a triangle of facilities that test missiles over a 25,000-square-mile area of the Pacific Ocean.

Buffington, whose career has included several visits to Port Hueneme, told guests Port Hueneme’s base has been held out as a model for naval installations nationwide.

“When I first came here, it was not much more than Quonset huts,” Buffington said. Now the base not only has modernized housing, but a retail store, a credit union, a child-care center and recreation activities for enlisted troops, he noted.

“This is absolutely the showpiece of the Navy,” he said.

In Nash’s closing remarks, he compared his command at the Seabee base to that of a relay runner. He was part of a team effort, Nash said.

“My segment is over and I gave it my best,” he said.